Joe

Mantiply

The procedural move opened up a spot on Toronto’s 40-man roster for Simeon Woods Richardson. The 35-year-old lefty reliever is facing a lengthy absence after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his left knee back in late May.

Blue Jays’ skipper John Schneider didn’t give a timeline for how long Mantiply may be shelved for but did say that the operation will not end his season. The 35-year-old southpaw has been terrific for the Jays this season, posting a 2.04 ERA and a 16/4 K/BB ratio across 17 2/3 frames.

No word yet regarding how long Mantiply will be sidelined. The 35-year-old southpaw has pitched extremely well in his Toronto debut with a sparkling 2.04 ERA and 16/4 K/BB ratio across 17 2/3 innings.

The Blue Jays needed to add a couple of fresh arms to their bullpen on Sunday, giving Maintiply his first opportunity to show the club what he can do at the big league level. He’ll function in a middle relief role.

Jiménez is one of the prominent late-camp cuts for the Blue Jays after a respectable showing as a non-roster invitee, hitting .286 with two homers in 18 Grapefruit League contests. Rodríguez is the notable reliever included in this latest batch after being removed from Toronto’s 40-man roster during the offseason.

Mantiply heads back north of the border to fortify Toronto’s left-handed relief depth. The 35-year-old southpaw made just 10 appearances for the Diamondbacks last year before latching on with the Blue Jays on a minor league pact. He’s merely organizational depth at this advanced stage of his career.

The 34-year-old southpaw was inked to a minor league contract by the Blue Jays back in July but spent his entire time with the organization at Triple-A Buffalo. There he registered a 3.45 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and a 19/0 K/BB ratio over 15 2/3 innings. Once considered one of the better setup men in the National League, Mantiply shouldn’t have any trouble finding another opportunity on the open market.

Mantiply was released by the Diamondbacks on July 2, and it took a bit for the former All-Star reliever to find a new home. He’ll head to Triple-A Buffalo to try and recapture his old form — or at least a semblance of it — and could be an option for the Toronto bullpen at some point this summer. The Blue Jays will need to add him to the 40-man roster for that promotion to take place.

It wasn’t enough that the Diamondbacks optioned the struggling southpaw back to Triple-A Reno in mid-May, he has now been stripped of his place on the team’s 40-man roster as well. Mantiply has posted a 15.83 ERA, 3.00 WHIP and an 8/3 K/BB ratio over 9 2/3 innings with the D’Backs this season. He has proven to be a viable contributor to big league bullpens in the past though, which could be enough for another team to take a chance on him on waivers.

Mantiply appeared in just two games during this brief stint with the D’Backs, and the results weren’t any better — giving up four runs on six hits and a walk over 2 1/3 innings. He’ll continue to sort out his issues at the Triple-A level. In 10 games in the bigs, he’s thrown 9 2/3 innings and allowed 17 earned runs.